Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Knotted Rope Coasters

I finally got time to make these coasters over the summer, but haven't got the chance to blog about them until now! I mean, I have an exam on friday, this is a perfect time to blog, right?? ;).

Knotted Rope Coasters

I got the idea for these from this pin:

And I loved them so much I actually really wanted to buy them. But upon tracing them to the seller, it was like $24 for set of four and as a vet student I just couldn't justify it for something I didn't totally need. Then I had two free weeks of dog sitting, and I thought, "I bet if I tried hard enough I could make those...."

Well, here they are after hours of cutting ropes, multiple failed attempts at knotting, and several hard ciders.

What you will need:

- 1/4" thickness rope; I used the one below

- Scissors

- A binder clip

- White thread

- A needle

- A lot of PATIENCE!

I used cheapo clothesline rope from the Wal-Mart - it was only $3.84 - and everything else, I already had!

Step #1 - Cut and Gather Your Strands

Cut yourself four strands for each coaster. I started off with strands ~2.5 ft in length until I got the hang of the knot and then I went down to 2 feet and still had a bit extra at the end.

Step #2 - Knot Away!!!

Step #3 - Stitching the Knot Complete

While this is not the most attractive method in the world, it worked for me. I just used simple white thread and stitched the loose ends together. It is going to look messy, but nobody needs to know it's there in the end!!

Step #4 - A few more stitches

In an attempt to make these slightly more durable, I threw stitches in on the back side between the five places where three crosses came together. I totally do not know how to explain that, but see the picture!